Number of happy people in Ukraine up 10% over year – survey

Sociologists say one of the reasons may be a certain improvement in the population's financial situation.

TSN

The number of people in Ukraine who considered themselves happy from May 2017 to May 2018 increased by 10%, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on May 18-30.

In particular, 63% of Ukrainians felt "happy" or "rather happy" in May this year, 16% felt "partly happy," while 17% said they were "unhappy" or "rather unhappy," the survey said.

Sociologists note that, compared with last year, the share of happy people increased by 10%, from 53% in May 2017 to 63% in May 2018. They explain that one of the reasons for the growth may be a certain improvement in the population's financial situation: during the year, the share of those who do not consider themselves "poor" rose from 30% to 37%.

Moreover, young people in general are happier than older citizens, as with age the level of happiness decreases almost linearly. This year, people aged 18-29, who felt happy accounted for 79%, while those aged 30-39 were also polled (72%), 40-49 (65%), 50-59 (57%), 60-69 (47%), and people over 70 years old (45%). Age-related decline is associated with poor health, as well as burdensome material condition and loneliness older people more often face.

In addition, researchers note that people feel happier in line with their higher level of well-being. Thus, among the poorest citizens (who experience shortage of food) 40% were happy, among low-income population (who have funds enough for food only) it was 58%, among people with middle income (enough money for food, clothes, and some savings) it was 74%, and among the people with above average income (able to buy luxury products) it was 85%.

At the same time, health is a very important condition for happiness, according to the poll: 88% of people with "very good health" say they are happy, while only 18% of those with poor health say so.

In general, residents of the country's western regions feel somewhat "happier." There was 68% of citizens living in western regions who said they are happy in May, 63% in the central regions, 59% in the southern regions, and 60% in the eastern regions.

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